I miss my mother's cooking. My favorite dish that she makes is lasagna. It just tastes really good and I miss it.
What is your favorite type of food?
Italian food. I've always liked it. I went to Italy in the summer of '05, and it wasn't a disappointment. Authentic Italian food is as good as I've heard it is.
So what else did you do in Italy? Where did you go?
I did a lot of traveling. First we went to Rome, and then we went to Florence, Siena, Verona, Venice, Cortona and Ascoli Piceno. I stayed there [in Ascoli Piceno] with my homestay family for two weeks. My homestay sister spoke a little bit of English, and I tried to practice my Italian. We worked together to help each other out. I took Spanish in high school, so when I got there, we had about four days of crash course classes in Italian. My Spanish helped me to get by. I'm definitely going back [to Italy].
What did you do over Interterm?
I went home to Miami. I spent time with my family, caught up with some old friends, went to South Beach, worked a little bit at the Miami Childrens' Museum and pretty much had a relaxing time. It was a nice break away from the work that you have at school.
What did you do on the first day that it snowed here?
I saw it, and I said, "Oh, that's cool," but I couldn't enjoy it because I wasn't feeling well. [Otherwise] I like to walk into the areas of snow that haven't been cleared. Hearing the crunching of snow underneath my boots is fun. The snow makes the ground look like it has glitter on it, which was cool. I saw that the other night. I had seen snow before in Boston, but it was March so there wasn't much snow-it just flurried.
When it snows a little more, what is the activity that you are looking forward to the most?
I've heard that sledding is a lot of fun, and I want to make a snow angel. I haven't made any snow angels before.
Your Facebook profile says that you enjoy going to concerts. What was the last concert you attended, and how did you like the performance?
The last concert I went to was in October senior year and I saw Kanye West. It was a lot of fun. He's a very good performer. He had the crowd really into it the whole time and no one sat down. This month, I'm going to John Mayer's concert. I'm really looking forward to that.
Favorite concert.
I think my favorite one was the Jingle Ball that the local radio station has every year. It's a lot of different artists, and that year we had John Mayer, Maroon 5, Alicia Keys … I can't remember anyone else, but it was really good. I think that was my junior year of high school.
You're a second-semester first-year now. What were you most excited about doing at college before you came?
Definitely meeting people, and just being involved in the different events on campus.
What activities are you involved in?
Black Student Union (BSU) and Amherst Christian Fellowship (ACF). Those are the main ones that I really do. BSU is planning a lot of things this month because it's Black History Month, so we have a lot of activities coming up and we will keep you posted. I think there's going to be a fundraiser for a New Orleans/Mardi Gras dinner event [on Feb. 17]. There are quotes up in Keefe relating to Black History Month. There will also be a screening of "When the Levees Broke" [on Feb. 12 and 14].
Do you see yourself getting involved in other activities if you have more time?
I would probably get involved with Amherst Dance or some other dance group. When I was about eight, I started with the Miami City Ballet for about three years, and prior to that, I had taken a hip-hop class. Also, throughout high school, I did liturgical dance at my church. It's pretty much dancing with gospel music. It's not like hip-hop or ballet; it's its own distinct form.